Would it be legal to have pacers do this....

this is very interesting, i've never thought of this, but my guess would be no

Generally lapped runners are not allowed to interfere with people lapping them, so I doubt such antics would be permitted in any race of importance or for record purposes.

No, there are actually specific rules against this (could easily happen in the 10000)

kartelite wrote:

Generally lapped runners are not allowed to interfere with people lapping them, so I doubt such antics would be permitted in any race of importance or for record purposes.

There is probably a rule against it, but that doesn't mean these pacers would be interfering...

"Antics," what do you think they are going to be wearing clown outfits?

Has to be said wrote:

"Antics," what do you think they are going to be wearing clown outfits?

I gather you have not seen the dimmpled red cloaks of swiftness the US team will wear in Londontown.

IAAF Rule 144.2(a) & USATF Rule 144.3(a) prohibits pacing by a lapped runner.

Has to be said wrote:

kartelite wrote:

Generally lapped runners are not allowed to interfere with people lapping them, so I doubt such antics would be permitted in any race of importance or for record purposes.

There is probably a rule against it, but that doesn't mean these pacers would be interfering...

"Antics," what do you think they are going to be wearing clown outfits?

Interfere in the sense of "to intervene or intrude in the affairs of others," which is what such assistance could be construed as. They most certainly would be interfering with the race if they did as the OP suggested.

And as was noted, I believe the IAAF, NCAA, and many high school leagues and other governing bodies have rules regarding lapped runners and assisting/hindering other athletes.

kartelite wrote:

Generally lapped runners are not allowed to interfere with people lapping them, so I doubt such antics would be permitted in any race of importance or for record purposes.

Lapped runners have as much right to the track as non-lapped ones. A lapped pacer would just stay in lane 1 and break the wind for the leaders, and move to the outside to let them pass or pace from the side.

There is a rule stating that lapped runners may not pace other athletes.

They aren't lapped unless they are passed.

i cant stop wrote:

They aren't lapped unless they are passed.

Fortunately you aren't the first person to think of this.

As you would have read from the IAAF rule that David Katz cited just a couple posts prior to yours:

"pacing in races by persons not participating in the same race, by athletes lapped or about to be lapped or by any kind of technical device"

But don't let this stop y'all from further debating whether it is legal to be paced by lapped (or nearly lapped) runners.

swooshing salesman type. wrote:

Has to be said wrote:

"Antics," what do you think they are going to be wearing clown outfits?

I gather you have not seen the dimmpled red cloaks of swiftness the US team will wear in Londontown.

POM(minute).

Good one. But, knowing some people in the labs at Nike, the secret labs, I'd say those suits are worth something.

Although I would love to see a study against just full body shaving...

Not every race has to abide by iaaf rules.

David Katz wrote:

IAAF Rule 144.2(a) & USATF Rule 144.3(a) prohibits pacing by a lapped runner.

But what if the second pacer were to begin his pacing duties BEFORE he was lapped?

That is, as the leading group came around, he stopped jogging in place and took off before any of them passed him?

IF two runners jog until the pack comes around,, then they both take off and lead the pack, the first one who is now leading is not about to be passed because the runner behind him is on the same lap, and the second runner who waited for the pack is not pacing at this point,, he is being paced by the first runner.

Didn't this come into play at some Olympics. For some reason I have Khalid Skah's (sp?) name stuck in my head as being in the mix somehow.

Rule reader wrote:

But don't let this stop y'all from further debating whether it is legal to be paced by lapped (or nearly lapped) runners.

But what is the definition of pacing? Suppose I'm about to be lapped, and the thought of this motivates me to pick up my pace and stay ahead of the leaders? Would anyone who ran behind me be dq'd? If so, why nt use this strategy against the Kenyans.

Roger Bannister tried this on his first sub 4 attempt, but British officials said it wouldn't have counted if he'd pulled it off.

Reality checker wrote:

But what is the definition of pacing? Suppose I'm about to be lapped, and the thought of this motivates me to pick up my pace and stay ahead of the leaders? Would anyone who ran behind me be dq'd? If so, why nt use this strategy against the Kenyans.

Yes, DQs are possible (including you). If you are about to be lapped, then you should not interfere or interact in any way with the leaders. Depending on the situation, you either swing wide if you can see you won't cut anyone off and let them pass on the inside, or keep your line and allow them to pass you.

If you have slowed down so much that you are being lapped (even in a 10,000), then there should be no justifiable capability to pick up the pace to match that of the leaders. Doing so would lead any reasonable observer to conclude you had been dogging it and were now pacing, in contravention of the rules.

For the other poster who recalls something from the Olympics, in 1992, Skah was dueling with Richard Chelimo as they were about to lap Hammou Boutayeb (also from Morocco). Boutayeb sped up to match their pace for a stretch.

Skah ended up outkicking Chelimo for the win but was initially DQ'd due to pacing from his countryman. This was overturned after a couple of days when Skah was able to demonstrate he wasn't being paced and was even telling Boutayeb to get out of the way.